Apple’s Podcasts iPad App Updated With Siri Integration

Yesterday’s Podcasts app caught my interest with its note about Siri integration. If you’ve got the app installed and a few podcasts downloaded, you can now command Siri to start playing them for you. You can make a general request like “play podcasts”, but also get more specific, like “play Welcome to Night Vale” (which is a hilarious podcast, by the way).

This isn’t anything terribly new to frequent users of the iOS music app. After all, you can already do this with artists, albums, and song titles. However, this does mark the first time I’ve seen an app update include Siri integration — which is a pretty big surprise to me, as all previous Siri-related updates I know of happened alongside major iOS releases.

I’m hoping this is a sign that Apple is starting to re-think their stance on Siri. We have a lot to gain by making more apps and functions accessible via Siri, and I’m really hoping to hear more about this in June at WWDC.

My name is probably Thomas (yes, it is). I'll be able to help you figure out why Evernote isn't syncing, or recommend your favourite new RSS reader to you. That's partly because I am enamoured with the iOS ecosystem and hardware, but mostly because I'm Canadian.